"Happy birthday, Kiers!"
"Yeah, happy birthday, man."
Kiers nodded politely as his classmates squeezed past him, filing into the classroom 7-B.
"Thanks."
He couldn't step inside; four girls blocked the doorway, letting only others through.
They held up a bright pink handmade sign covered in glitter, hearts, and badly drawn unicorns. It was like a sparkly barricade.
Behind them, the rest of the class had already taken their seats.
The bell rang.
Brinny raised a finger like a conductor.
"One… two… three!"
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to... yooooouuu!"
She dragged the last note far too long and completely off-key, waving her hand dramatically while the others spun and danced around the sign.
Kiers smiled. Stiff. Awkward.
"Thanks."
"Quite the performance."
An adult voice drifted down the hallway.
Brinny froze.
The girls slowly lowered the sign.
"Uh… thanks. We've been here since before the bell. So you know."
Then the girls scattered to their desks, snickering the whole way.
Their teacher, Colin, walked up beside Kiers and gave him a light pat on the back.
"Happy birthday, kiddo."
"Thank you, Mr. Colin."
Kiers sat at his desk, staring out the window.
Beyond the city walls, the forest, far off in the distance, he could see faint glows flickering, animals, beasts, and monsters.
Their life force, their auras.
He looked down toward the streets of Sanctus. People flowed through the city like rivers splitting and merging. One woman caught his attention. She walked with the crowd, eyes glued to her phone, her aura bright and steady.
Kiers followed her with his gaze as she moved block after block, her glow slipping behind buildings, still visible.
Something in his gut told him not to look away.
So he didn't.
Eventually, the crowd thinned.
She was now alone.
Then, another aura caught his eye, this one suddenly changed color.
It was red.
It slipped out from an alley and began following her.
Kiers leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing.
Around the city, most auras burned bright. Some flickered. Others barely glowed at all, dim and unmoving, like dying embers.
"The weaker ones… barely shine…" he muttered. "Are they… weak?, I wouldn't know... I never get to leave my house."
He glanced around the classroom.
Most of his classmates shone brightly.
And a light exploded in his vision.
Kiers flinched and shut his eyes, cutting off his Aura Sight.
It was Brinny.
Kiers already knew.
When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him, chin resting in her palm, smiling like she was the luckiest girl alive.
"Since I started going to school, she has always been the brightest."
Kiers smiled back, awkwardly.
"Hi," he mouthed.
Brinny's eyes widened.
Her face turned bright red, resembling a tomato.
Her smile wobbled, and she slowly turned away.
"I was caught staring again... Oh, no..." Brinny mumbled.
Kiers let out a small, nervous chuckle and turned back to the window.
The woman was gone, and only the red aura remained.
But it shifted. Darkened.
Pitch Black and moving faster.
Leaving a faint blue glow behind… shrinking… fading…
Until nothing was left.
"Was that the woman..?"
At gym class, Kiers stood off to the side while everyone stretched.
"Hey, Kiers. Sup, man?"
Kiers turned.
"Hey."
It was his best friend, Perry, who jogged over, grinning.
"What you doing for your birthday?"
Kiers shrugged.
"Again? Man… your dad is really doing it again." Perry shook his head.
Then he grinned wider.
"But.."
He reached into his back pocket and held out a closed fist. "I got you something."
Kiers blinked.
Perry dropped a small object into his hand.
Kiers looked down. It was a bullet casing.
"A shell?"
Perry smirked. "Not just any shell. That came from Heaven's Anvil."
Kiers's eyes widened.
"How did you get this?"
Perry puffed out his chest.
"Brice Norwrath had a shootout near my house." He pointed. "That bullet took out four criminals. One shot. No lie."
Perry stepped back and began acting it out.
"I got low, stayed quiet… made sure the coast was clear."
His voice dropped, dramatic.
"I saw him. The legend himself and he was massive. Like a mountain giant."
Kiers leaned in slightly, invested.
"He fired once. The car kept coming… looked like it was gonna run him over, flattening him like a pancake."
Perry paused.
"He didn't even flinch."
Kiers swallowed.
"The car lost control, turning, and it rolled, barely missing Brice Norwrath. He just watched the car, not even making a face. Complete aura farm. The second, he walked away."
Perry snapped his fingers.
"I moved in and swiped the shell."
He nudged Kiers.
"And I thought… who'd appreciate something this cool?"
Kiers smiled.
"My home boy, Kiers. That's who."
Kiers closed his hand around it.
"Thanks, Perry."
"Yeah, yeah. I figured you could make a couple of holes in it, turn it into a necklace or something," Perry said, rubbing his nose.
"Everyone! Get into groups of four!" Coach Mance shouted.
Brinny and her friend Kelci, watching Kiers and Perry, decided to jog over, giggling.
"We'll be your teammates, Kiers."
Perry's eyes narrowed.
"Nah. We're good."
Kelci crossed her arms. "We weren't asking you."
"Whatever, Kels. We're gonna be guards, 33rd-rank, Can't afford dead weight." Perry said with a smug look.
Kelci scoffed. "Dead weight? You two have the lowest intelligence stats in class. You'll need all the help you can get."
"It's fine," Kiers said quickly. "I don't mind."
Perry blinked, open-mouth.
Kelci smirked at Perry, she pulled down one eyelid and stuck her tongue out.
Brinny beamed.
"Alright, now that you found your groups!" Mance clapped. "Open your User Interface!"
All around them, students began tapping invisible screens.
Kiers just watched.
He couldn't access a U.I.
"Only NPCs can't use a U.I."
"Yeah… he's definitely one."
"Why is he even doing in this school?, Don't they get their own school, for NPCs?"
"His dad's the emperor, remember?"
The whispers cut sharper than a Katana.
Brinny stepped closer, glaring at them.
"Don't listen to them," she said softly, looping her arm through Kiers's.
Perry noticed it immediately and shoved himself between them, pushing Brinny back by the forehead.
"If they say one more word, I'm knocking teeth out," he snapped.
Kelci grabbed Perry's hair and yanked.
"Touch her again and I'm knocking yours out!"
Perry and Kelci's eyes locked on, like a sniper's laser honing in on its target.
"I like to see you try!" Perry gritted his teeth.
"Make your move, bucko!" Kelci lifted a fist.
Mance clapped his hands sharply. "No fighting in my gym class, you two!"
Gym was the only place Kiers truly stood out.
Running laps? He could circle the entire class without trying. Pull-ups, push-ups, strength tests? He could go for hours without even breaking a sweat.
But he never showed it.
The one time he did, everything changed.
Students of class 1-A, stared. Whispered. Avoided him.
So Kiers learned.
In competitions he knew second place was safe.
Second place didn't make people uncomfortable.
Second place didn't make him feel alone.
The principal had transferred him from Class 1-A to 1-B not long after, he's been with group B ever since.
And since then, Kiers never crossed that line again.
At the end of the day, Kiers and Perry sat outside the school.
"Kiers!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Perry lit up instantly.
Kiers narrowed his eyes slightly, already feeling the glowing aura before he even looked.
It was always bright, around his sister Kahlel.
Too bright.
Maybe not, Brinny bright.
"Hey, Kahlel! How was class?" Perry asked, practically floating.
"Hey, weirdo. It was good," Kahlel replied casually.
Kiers smiled. "Hey."
Kahlel tilted her head. "How about we get outta here. Ditch the bus."
"Where are we going?" Perry asked.
"Were going somewhere special." Then she nudged Perry. "But, you're going home."
Kahlel grabbed Kiers's arm and bolted.
Perry stood there, watching them disappear, his excitement dimming, with his aura.
"Oh… okay…"
They sprinted through a narrow alley.
"C'mon," Kahlel said. "We gotta jump."
"But Dad said.." Kiers spoke but it was too late.
Kahlel leapt, bouncing off the wall and scaling upward in smooth, effortless motion. In seconds, she vanished onto the rooftop.
Kiers smiled playfully.
Then followed.
They ran leaping rooftop to rooftop, the wind rushing past them, the twin suns stretching long shadows behind their feet.
Soon, they reached the massive iron walls of Sanctus.
Kiers slowed near the edge, glancing down at the guards below.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"A little further."
Kahlel took off again, sprinting along the wall like it was nothing.
Kiers followed.
Then, Kiers was falling behind, so he pushed harder, faster.
Until he shot past her.
Kahlel was already sitting at the edge when he skidded to a stop, boots scraping, and sliding against iron, and gravel.
She kicked her feet lazily, staring out into the distance.
Far beyond the walls…
A massive tree rose into the sky.
Kiers stepped beside her.
She patted the spot next to her.
He sat.
"You know," Kahlel said, "from here, it just looks like a normal tree."
Kiers chuckled.
"Yeah… but it'd take us a full day to reach it, even running."
"Exactly." She smiled faintly. "That's what makes it insane."
Kiers leaned back slightly. "So… this is the special place?"
Kahlel shot him a look. "What? Not good enough?"
"No, I just thought it'd be… I don't know… more special." Kiers sounded disappointed.
She sighed.
"You know what that is, right?"
"The Ley Tree. So what?"
Kahlel smirked. "You idiot. That's where Dad killed the One Above."
"I know the story."
"The one Dad told us," she said. "But there is a whole lot more to it."
Kiers frowned.
"Dad killed a world-controlling monster. What else is there?"
Kahlel stared at him.
Then laughed.
"Oh wow… the rumors are true."
"What rumors?"
"That my brother is a complete idiot."
"Hey!" Kiers protested.
She nudged him. A gentle smile, she said; "Relax. The Creator made you that way for a reason."
Kiers huffed, but smiled anyway.
"But seriously," she said. "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
Kahlel's tone shifted.
"There was a tradition. Long before Dad became emperor."
Kiers turned fully toward her.
She hesitated… then continued.
"The Creator gives rebirth to souls from other worlds. And those souls grow up to challenge the One Above."
Kiers listened quietly.
"There's a balance to keep," she went on, "adventurers are sent to the eight Temples of Creation to obtain the power to destroy the One Above…"
She looked at the distant tree.
"The adventurer that defeats The One Above, is rewarded. Eternal peace with the Creator. And the world would get one year of silence. No reincarnation. No big threats to Solmara."
Kiers blinked.
"What happens if no one can beat The One Above?" he asked.
Kahlel's voice dropped.
"There's always someone else who carries the torch."
"But, something weird is happening, Kiers. The scales are off. Balance is broken. Souls keep coming. More and more… Eventually, there will be no space left."
A pause.
"If it's not corrected the Creator will reset everything."
Kiers stared at her.
"…You turned religious?"
Kahlel snorted.
"No. it's just interesting, right?. Do they not talk about it in 7-B?"
"They don't teach that stuff anymore," Kiers said. "You know that."
"Yeah, I know. I heard it from a classmate."
She leaned back, eyes still on the tree.
"The population's been rising fast…"
Kiers frowned.
"Then… doesn't that mean Dad didn't actually kill The One Above?" he said slowly. "Cause if he did. He be gone to live with the Creator?"
Kahlel laughed.
Soft.
Nervous.
"Wow," she said. "Maybe you're not completely hopeless."
They sat in silence.
The suns dipped below the horizon.
The twin moons rose.
Kiers leaned against her, drifting into sleep.
"…Please don't be true," Kahlel whispered. "Because if it is…"
Her voice cracked.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Kiers stirred.
She quickly wiped them away and looked off to the side.
"Did I fall asleep?" he asked.
"Yeah." She stood up. "Let's go home."
Kiers stretched.
Then froze.
He noticed the twin moons glow.
"…Oh no."
Panic hit. "DAD'S GONNA FLIP!"
"Ahem," A deep voice cut through the air.
Kiers turned.
Donis stood behind them, arms crossed.
Cold. Still.
"Both of you," he said, voice sharp as steel. "Home. Now."
Kahlel stormed into the manor.
Kiers followed, slower.
"Kahlel," Donis said, voice rising. "Get over here. Now."
She ignored him, and kept walking.
Donis vanished.
Reappeared in front of her.
"I am talking to you."
"What?!" Kahlel snapped. "You're just gonna send me to my room anyway!"
"Not before I fix that attitude."
"Oh, now you're a parent?" she fired back. "You show up once in a while and act like you care?!"
Silence cracked between them.
"I warned you," Donis said quietly. "Never go into my office."
His eyes sharpened.
"Where is the book, Kahlel?"
"What book?" she said, avoiding his gaze.
"The Book of Creation."
He held out his hand. "Give it back."
Kiers stood frozen on the stairs, watching.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kahlel said.
Donis lifted his chin.
And then.
It hit.
A crushing, suffocating aura.
Kiers's eyes widened.
His legs shook.
"…What is that…?"
"You will return the Book of Creation," Donis said. "I should have destroyed it years ago."
Kahlel stared at the floor, fists clenched.
A tear hit the carpet.
Then another.
Donis's aura faded.
His voice softened.
"You're lying…" Kahlel said, her shoulders trembling.
"You liar," she whispered.
Something broke in Donis's expression.
"Kahlel… I.."
"YOU LIAR!!" She shoved past him and ran.
Her footsteps thundered down the hall.
KA-BOOM.
A door slammed.
Silence.
Donis stood there.
Still.
Then slowly turned to Kiers.
"…Clean yourself up."
He closed his eyes.
"…And go to your room."
Kiers didn't move.
He couldn't.
Something warm spread down his leg.
He looked down.
Realized.
"I… I peed myself…"
He sniffed the salty smell.
"…On my birthday."